Dr Paul Allen

 ‘Queers for Palestine’ The headline declared, “WATCH: ANTI-ISRAEL ‘QUEERS FOR PALESTINE’ PROTESTERS BLOCK ACCESS TO DISNEY WORLD.” In this story, we learned that tensions “rose when anti-Israel protesters with the group Queers for Palestine blocked traffic on Saturday outside Disney World in Orlando, Florida.” Queers for Palestine? But of course! That’s like African Americans for the KKK or Jews for Nazism. A delightful mix. You can feel the chemistry. Never mind the fact that there are precisely zero queers in Palestine — because, as many have pointed out, such people would be instantly marked for death by the terrorists in charge. GLAAD So Sad Finally, we read that “Jennifer Lawrence Calls Mike Pence Gay at GLAAD Media Awards: ‘Conversion Therapy Is Not Real – Even Though You Think It Worked on You’.” After making a crude joke about gay sex and noting that “she once fell in love with a gay man but eventually realized her love would never be reciprocated,” Lawrence chose to attac...

The October 7 Terrorist Attack Early on Saturday morning, October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists broke through fencing along the Gaza/Israel border. While in Israel, Hamas terrorists murdered, raped, assaulted, and kidnapped Israeli men, women, and children. It should be noted that Hamas launched the terrorist invasion during a religiously significant time for the Jewish people, which was during the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) at the end of a Jewish festival (Sukkot). We deliberately use the word “terrorist” to identify those who invaded Israel because they are, by definition, terrorists. A “terrorist” is defined as  “a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” That is precisely what Hamas did on October 7. They used unlawful violence and intimidation against civilians to achieve their desired political ends: the destruction of the State of Israel. This is absolutely undeniable. A call for the extermination of the J...

Sign and diagram in Jordan of the Dead Sea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Scripture often speaks of the entire creation awaiting the final act of redemption. To destroy something completely and to replace it with something utterly new is not an act of redemption. To redeem something is to save that which is in imminent danger of being lost. The renovation may be radical. It may involve a violent conflagration of purging, but the purifying act ultimately redeems rather than annihilates. The new heaven and the new earth will be purified. There will be no room for evil in the new order. A hint of the quality of the new heaven and new earth is found in the somewhat cryptic words, "Also there was no more sea" (Rev. 21:1). For people who have a love for the seashore and all that it represents in terms of beauty and recreation, it may seem strange to contemplate a new earth without any sea. But to the ancient Jew , it was a different matter. In Jewish literature, the sea was often...

English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) One of the most common arguments for infant baptism is found in the climax of the apostle Peter’s sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2. Peter has just set forth the redemptive work of Jesus (vv. 22-35) and proclaimed that He is both Lord and Christ (v. 36), and his Jewish listeners are cut to the heart, asking, “What shall we do?” (v. 37). Peter responds in Acts  2:38 -39: Repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself (Acts  2:38 -39). The argument for infant baptism is found in Peter’s declaration that “the promise is for you and your children”—not just you, but you  and your children . According to paedobaptists, the promise that Peter refers to in Acts  2:38 -39 i...

Christ and The Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 23:25–26 “You blind  Pharisee ! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside may also be clean” (v. 26). Hyperbole is one of the best ways to make one’s teaching memorable, and  Jesus , a master teacher, is unafraid to use exaggerated statements to make a point.  Matthew 23:24 records one such example; Jesus tells the  scribes  and Pharisees that in straining out a  gnat  they swallow a camel! The gnat is the smallest  unclean animal  found in  Palestine  ( Lev.  11:20–23), and the Pharisees strain their liquids through a cloth to make sure no tiny gnat is present that would make their drink unclean. This analogy for being concerned with the tiny details of the law (Matt. 23:23) is contrasted with the swallowing of a camel, the largest unclean creature in Palestine (Lev. 11:4). Jesus’ vivid image reveals that an inordinate...

English: Saint Luke the Evangelist. Russian Eastern Orthodox icon from Russia. 18th century. Wood, tempera. Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. He is considered one of the Four Evangelists. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus , so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught (Luke 1:3–4). Luke states that his purpose in writing his gospel is to provide an orderly account for Theophilus and other believers. There were many stories and traditions already circulating in the decades after Jesus ’ ascension, and Luke was determined to provide an accurate account. He mentions that “many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and serv...

Christ and The Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 23:25–26 “You blind Pharisee ! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside may also be clean” ( v. 26 ). Jesus is unafraid to use exaggerated statements to make a point. Matthew 23:24   records one such example; Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees that in straining out a gnat they swallow a camel! The gnat is the smallest unclean animal found in Palestine ( Lev. 11:20–23 ), and the Pharisees strain their liquids through a cloth to make sure no tiny gnat is present that would make their drink unclean. This analogy for being concerned with the tiny details of the law ( Matt. 23:23 ) is contrasted with the swallowing of a camel, the largest unclean creature in Palestine ( Lev. 11:4 ). Jesus’ vivid image reveals that an inordinate focus on purity in the lesser things of the Law makes a person unclean in regards to its weightier matters. Christ ’s fifth woe confirms that many of the scribes and...